GlaxoSmithKline - All posts tagged GlaxoSmithKline

he HIV drugs made by Gilead Sciences (GILD) have long been the rock upon which the drug maker has built its other franchises. And for the last five years, it has dominated the market, despite recovery from long-time rival GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

But Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges notes that Gilead may find itself “stuck between a rock and a hard place” as it labors to develop new HIV drugs amid a changing treatment landscape and contends with new and cheaper drugs from the likes of Glaxo and Merck (MRK).

Biogen Idec (BIIB) and Hospira (HSP) aren’t the only drug makers having a good day. Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) and Prosensa Holding (RNA) both soared in Friday market action following good news from regulators regarding experimental drugs pending approval.

Halozyme is partnered with Swiss drug giant Roche (RHHBY) to develop a subcutaneous version of the breast cancer drug Herceptin. And on Friday, an advisory committee recommended that European regulators approve the drug.

At $7.90, Halozyme soared 24% after more than 6.5 million shares exchanged hands compared to an average daily volume of 1.2 million shares.

At the same time, Dutch drug maker Prosensa made its debut on the U.S. stock market, jumping 46.5% to $19.05 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted a “breakthrough status” to its drug drisapersen.

The drug, which is being developed in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), treats a rate muscle-wasting disorder Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

A slow-moving takeover battle that got hostile ended in a friendly manner on Monday as Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) agreed to be acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for $3 billion in cash. The deal, worth $3.6 billion including debt, values HGSI at $14.25 per share, above Glaxo’s initial offer of $13 from three months ago. Human Genome had announced a deadline of today for competing bids.

Human Genome partnered with Glaxo in the lupus treatment benlysta, and the companies are also working on heart disease and diabetes treatments.

“The transaction is well aligned with GSK’s long-term strategy of delivering sustainable growth, simplifying GSK’s business model, enhancing R&D returns and deploying capital with discipline,” the companies said in a statement.

Because the deal had been anticipated, the stocks aren’t moving wildly this morning, although HGS is up 4.6%. Glaxo is trading 0.4% higher.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is rising this morning, after the company announced that its experimental HIV treatment dolutegravir reduced the level of the virus in the blood of patients who had taken it in conjunction with two other drugs. The company claimed that the treatment actually reduced the virus more than Gilead’s (GILD) Atripla, which is the top-selling AIDS medicine in the world according to Bloomberg.

Glaxo said that Atripla was less effective because more patients had to drop out of the study due to side effects.

“Differences in efficacy were primarily driven by a higher rate of discontinuation due to adverse events on the Atripla arm,” Glaxo said.

Glaxo developed the drug with Pfizer (PFE) and Japanese company Shionogi.

Glaxo shares were recently up 1%, while Gilead was down 2%. Pfizer shares were off 0.6%.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) just agreed to the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest drug company payout in U.S. history, and the stock is rising 1.3%. “GSK agreed to plead guilty to a three-count criminal information, including two counts of introducing misbranded drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin, into interstate commerce and one count of failing to report safety data about the drug Avandia to the Food and Drug Administration,” the Justice Department said in a release.

The $3 billion settlement was no secret, and Glaxo had already made provisions in its financial statements. In fact, it looks like the final settlement will actually cost less than the company had set aside.

“The finalisation of the terms of the settlement mean that this matter can be resolved within the existing pre-tax provision. The after tax cost will be approximately $150m lower than provided. As a result a credit will be recorded to the non-core tax charge for the second quarter 2012,” the company said.

But with state litigation ongoing, the company may need tat $150 million after all: “However, due to the evolving state litigation environment, GSK expects to utilise the tax benefit arising in recording an offsetting additional pre-tax provision of approximately $180m (equating to an after tax cost of $150m) related to these matters. This will be recorded as a non-core charge in SG&A in Q212.”

GlaxoSmithKline shares slipped 3% on weak pricing in Europe, which overshadowed the pharmaceutical company’s promise to return to sales growth in 2012.

Shares of Glaxo (GSK), the United Kingdom’s largest drug maker were off $1.42 to $45.76 in afternoon trading.

The company said first-quarter net profit was down 13% year over year, to 1.33 billion pounds ($2.15 billion); the year-ago period included one-time gains from the sale of Glaxo’s stake in Quest Diagnostics. Sales rose just less than 1%, to 6.64 billion pounds, lower than the 6.79 billion analysts were expecting.

Sales were strong in the United States, and Glaxo said it will continue to buy back shares. It also defended its hostile bid for Human Genome Sciences (HGSI), saying Glaxo’s existing interests make it the compelling owner.

“We remain mindful of the challenges we face given the current global political and economic environment, particularly in relation to pricing on our more established products. However, we also continue to see attractive growth opportunities across our businesses” including positive 2012 pipeline data “for five Phase III assets for the treatment of HIV, cancer, diabetes and asthma.”

About Stocks To Watch

Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.